1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to bird strike prevention devices, and jet engines and airplanes including bird strike prevention devices. More specifically, this disclosure relates to bird strike prevention devices to be mounted near air intakes of airplane jet engines to protect the jet engines against bird strikes, and jet engines and airplanes including such bird strike prevention devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Airplanes, especially passenger airplanes, use jet engines to generate thrust for flights. The jet engine takes air in through an air intake to generates the thrust by chemical reaction between oxygen contained in the air and jet fuel. Thus, a large volume of airflow is required to operate the jet engine, and sometime a bird may be ingested with the airflow. This event is referred to as a bird strike.
Usually, airplane jet engines are designed so that the thrust can be maintained even when a bird up to a certain weight (typically up to eight pounds) is ingested. However, even with such a prevention measure against the bird strike, airplanes may still suffer damage and be forced to return to airports, resulting great financial losses. Accordingly, more effective bird strike prevention devices are desirable.
According to the New York Times (published Jan. 21, 2009, “Screens Not the Answer to Keep Birds Out of Jet Engines, by Matthew L. Wald), screening the front of jet engine is ineffective and dangerous because the engine needs a smooth airflow and the screen might break off and enter the engine a larger bird enters the engine.
The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.